His hero, Barry Sanders, played until he was 30, walked away and never looked back, even as those who adored the legendary Lions running back pleaded for his return.
"Barry had a lot more left to give," said Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who was 13 when the back he looked up to most of all retired abruptly following the 1998 season.
Physically, Sanders rushed for 1,491 yards, not unlike the 1,485 that Peterson just posted while winning his third rushing title at age 30. But mentally, Sanders was drained from all the losing. From either not reaching the playoffs or exiting quietly. From going 1-5 with one NFC title game appearance, not unlike Peterson's 1-3 mark and one NFC title shot.
"Finishing your career with one playoff win would …" well, stink, Peterson said. "But what Barry had going on in Detroit was different than what's going on here in Minnesota. I think we're more than capable of going deep into the playoffs and winning a championship. There really are no excuses for us not going forward in these playoffs."
The two-time reigning NFC champion Seattle Seahawks might beg to differ. As the NFC's sixth seed, Seattle plays the No. 3 seed Vikings in an NFC wild-card game at TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday. In what's being forecast as one of the coldest games in NFL history, Peterson will pit his rushing crown against a defense that won its fourth straight scoring title (17.3 points per game), led the league in run defense (81.5 yards per game) and held Peterson to season lows for carries (eight) and yards (18) in a 38-7 rout at TCF Bank Stadium on Dec. 6.
Peterson said he's approaching the rematch as if it's "mine to win or lose." That's an oversimplification, but he is the focal point of throwback team built to win with defense, ball control, favorable field position and a limited number of mistakes. The Vikings will need all four of those elements to upset the favored Seahawks and win their first playoff game in six years.
How'd they get here?
In September 2014, the Vikings organization was rocked by the news that Peterson had been indicted on child-abuse charges in Texas. Peterson's season ended after one game as he bounced from game-day inactive the first week to the commissioner's exempt list to being suspended to finally being reinstated in the spring.
After initial confusion and conflicting press conferences days apart amid a public uproar, the Vikings, with league direction that was lacking initially, began to form a measured approach to resolving the situation with their relationship with Peterson intact.